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Yoongi’s head lifted up to the sound of the old, tiny bell chiming as the door to his small apothecary shop opened.
Dropping the jars of ground herbs down on the counter, Yoongi blinked at the sight of a young fellow wearing a muddy tunic and fraying dark trousers. His dark hair was tousled, as if it was ruffled by the wind or he’d recently risen up from slumber.
“Good afternoon,” Yoongi greeted the customer and plastered on his face the most inviting smile that he could muster. “What may I offer you?”
The young man sighed and rubbed a hand against his tired, puffy eyes. “Do you have—” He yawned. “—A medicine to keep me awake?”
Yoongi’s brows rose up to his hairline, surprised by the customer’s request. It wasn’t unusual for people to go to his shop to seek for a medicine to relieve them from a fitful sleep, but this was certainly the first time that Yoongi had heard someone request for a medicine to keep them astir instead.
As Yoongi was about to respond to the young man, he saw a sudden black aura oozing from the other’s skin like smoke, swirling and floating around him like grotesque shadows. His eyes widened in shock and his heart pounded faster inside his chest.
Is it...?
“Excuse me?” The young man’s brows furrowed, perplexed by the shop owner’s shocked expression. “Do you have what I asked for? Because if not, then I would have to leave—”
“Do you see it?”
The young man blinked at Yoongi. “Pardon me. See what?”
“The—” Yoongi gasped when the shadows hugged the young man’s neck, formless arms caressing the other’s skin and causing his head to nod off.
“Ah...” The young man sighed and rubbed his hand again against his eyes, seemingly trying to fight off sleep. “...It’s happening again.”
Yoongi knew what it was, at least from the books he’d read and from the tales he’d heard from his own kind.
Yes, Yoongi was not a human. He was one of those “dark” hell-sent creatures that were feared by men for centuries. He was an abomination everywhere he went, a plague to humanity’s thriving race.
Yoongi was a witch, but he was far from evil, at least he was to him.
The witch’s eyes followed the shadows, brows knitting together as they weighed heavily on the young man’s shoulders — burdening him.
“You have a curse,” he blurted out, and his face suddenly went pale.
The man’s whole body went rigid, hand dropping down from his face as onyx eyes trained on Yoongi, looking at him as if he’d gone insane and with such intensity that caused a shiver to run down the witch’s spine.
“Curses are not real,” the young man spoke in a low voice.
“They are.” Yoongi pointed at the shadows swirling around the other. “The ‘Miasma of Death’— you have it.”
“The Miasma of Death?” The young man narrowed his eyes at him. “What are you talking about—”
Yoongi snapped his fingers and suddenly, the earth green curtains rolled down the windows and the iron bolt slid into place, locking the door shut.
The young man’s eyes widened in alarm but Yoongi hushed him and gave him a soft smile. “Come,” he said, rounding the counter to stand in front of him. “I will help you.”
“You... what?”
“I know a way how to unbind the curse from you. It is not simple, and it may take time, but I can help you.” Yoongi’s eyes cast down briefly, a tinge of anxiety coiling in his gut as he waited for the man’s reaction.
“Why would you help me?”
The witch’s head shot up at that, gaze locking with the other’s distrustful one.
“You do not know me. We are strangers, so why would you go to such lengths for me?”
Yoongi honestly did not know. But when he saw how burdened the young man was by the curse, how the thick, suffocating miasma hung around him and appeared to have been weighing down on him that he couldn’t keep his eyes open, Yoongi’s chest constricted with an overwhelming feeling of sympathy and concern.
“We may not know each other, yes.” Yoongi pressed his lips together briefly, thinking out his next words. “But it does not mean that I cannot act out of compassion.”
Silence dawned between them for a moment, intensifying the shudders pricking on Yoongi’s skin.
“Are you a witch?” asked the man, and Yoongi’s heart beat faster.
The witch’s inky black lashes fluttered as muted words weighed heavily on his tongue.
You should never tell anyone about who you are, Yoongi.
A soft, soothing voice echoed inside his head, cradling him like a lullaby.
You should never trust anyone but yourself.
The witch’s nails bit on his palms as his hands balled into fists, seeking for some sort of solid support. “I am,” he spoke breathily, ire flickering across his eyes. “Will you have me killed?”
The young man was looking at him intensely, onyx eyes boring into Yoongi’s soul and causing the hairs on his arms to stand.
Why was Yoongi being so deeply affected by just a mere stare from a stranger?
“No,” the young man said, and Yoongi’s shoulders sagged a little in relief. “I will not utter a word to the royal guards. Not unless you’re able to help me with this... curse.”
The witch swallowed the forming lump in his throat and nodded, feeling a bit of dread settle into his chest. Was he making a wrong decision right now?
“You are staking your life for revealing your identity to a stranger, witch.”
Yoongi’s brows knitted together as an indignant look contorted his features. “And you are endangering your own life for associating with one, dirty man.”
“Dirty man?” The man’s brow rose in question.
“You have muddy clothes and your hair is unkempt. You look filthy.”
To Yoongi’s surprise, a low chuckle sounded from the stranger’s mouth as his eyes curved into little, tiny crescents, momentarily mesmerizing Yoongi and making his lips part in awe.
Had... this man always looked this beautiful in front of him?
“Pardon me for my—” He looked down on his soiled tunic. “—Untidy appearance. I actually collapsed and had accidentally fallen asleep on my way here.”
“Oh.”
Then his curse is more serious than I thought.
As they talked, the miasma slowly vanished and seeped back through the stranger’s skin. Yoongi sighed and turned around, saying, “Follow me, and please, do not call me ‘witch.’ I have a name.”
“Which is?”
The witch looked at the staring young man over his shoulder. “Yoongi.”
The stranger’s lips tugged at the corners. “Yoongi,” he repeated, guarded eyes softening gradually.
Why did Yoongi’s name sound different when spoken by this man?
“My name is Jimin,” the stranger uttered with a hint of smile on his plush, rosy lips.
The still room located at the far end corner of the small place that Yoongi was renting was where he was making those powdered herbs and dried roots he was selling in his quaint apothecary shop. The stone walls were gray and taunting, blocking any source of light aside from the small top window built high up beside the fireplace.
Wrought iron candelabras kept the room alight, chasing away the shadows that threatened to engulf every corner of the room.
Jimin was eyeing him curiously as Yoongi painted the back of his hands with black ritual symbols that his mother had taught him when he was a child. The patterns were complex and swirling in one direction to another, creating a wonderful art piece that could rival a castle’s mural.
“Do you do incantations?”
Yoongi’s eyes flicked up to the young man briefly, looking at him under dark, long lashes. “Some witches do. But I do not.”
“Why?”
“Incantations are used for dark rituals, to summon evil spirits or to scourge other people.”
The muscles in Jimin’s jaws twitched as he clenched his teeth tightly. “Witches own spell books, do they not?”
“They do. But I don’t use mine.”
“Why?”
Yoongi sighed and paused from inking the back of his hand. “For a stranger, you do ask a lot.”
Jimin rolled his eyes and huffed, pursing his lips quite adorably that Yoongi momentarily thought of cupping those round cheeks in his hands.
Wait, had he really thought of touching the other man so familiarly like that?
“I don’t trust witches,” Jimin muttered.
Yoongi scoffed. “You are not the only one. You have the entire kingdom at your back.”
Yoongi continued inking his hand and tried to stray his attention from the feeling of bitterness creeping slowly into his chest.
Being a witch was hard; it wasn’t that Yoongi had wished to be born this way. He and his family had to run from town to town, from kingdom to kingdom when he was still little to avoid the punishing hands of the public.
Witches were ridiculed and scorned, treated as abominations that brought ill fates and bad omens amongst humans. They were hunted, killed and burned all across the world, feared by men for their power, regarded as banes and threats to human lives.
Yoongi had learned early in his life that being different and bestowed with something more could endanger his life as well as the lives of those whom he loved.
And right now, he was beginning to think that this decision of his had probably costed the young man’s life.
“There are different kinds of spell books,” the witch finally answered, and Jimin’s attention turned once again on him. “There are those that contain dark magic, and those that teach us the basics of enchantment. As a witch though, I’ve learned most of my knowledge from my mother. I stopped studying the spell books as I grew up.”
“Why?” Jimin asked.
Yoongi put the brush down and placed his inked hands on top of his thighs. “Because when you hold such tremendous power in your hands, something that can bring forth both prosperity and destruction to the world, then you tend to drown in it.”
“I have seen witches who had lost themselves in dark magic, and none of them had ended well — not one.”
Jimin’s eyes cast down as beats of silence fluttered between them. Yoongi let out a sigh and dipped his hand into the bowl of gold powder beside him.
“What is that?”
“Gold dust,” the witch answered, smiling a little. “I use this to perform enchantments.”
“May I ask where you obtained such material?”
“From the special bark of the olden trees in the western forest. Only witches can use them to cast spells.”
“Oh.”
Yoongi licked his bottom lip and flicked his eyes to the young man. “I assume that you were not aware of your curse, am I correct?”
“Yes,” Jimin answered. “I only thought that I was born heavy-eyed, and not because of the effect of this curse you are talking about.”
The witch nodded. “The Miasma of Death is a dark curse, something inherited, at least from what the books say and from other witches who have encountered it. Do your parents have the same curse?”
“I don’t know.” Jimin shook his head, a blanket of sadness suddenly overlapping him. “I’m an orphan. I don’t have anyone else with me.”
Yoongi’s heart clenched horribly for the man. He knew how hard it was to be left alone at such a young age. When both of his parents died, Yoongi was left on the streets to scrape for food, was forced to do labor jobs so he could keep himself afloat.
A kind, old man from the neighboring kingdom had taught him how to be an apothecary. He lived with him for two years, until someone snitched on Yoongi’s identity and caused the old man’s demise.
“You are like a son I’ve never had,” the old man said gruffly, smiling down at a tearful Yoongi before he locked him up in the basement to keep him away from the angry shouts of the guards and townspeople in front of their home.
“Away with you all!” the old man shouted, claiming Yoongi’s identity as that of his own. “I have killed the boy, and I will not think twice before I curse all of you!”
After that night under the bleeding red moon, Yoongi was left alone once again.
The witched let out a soft sigh and dropped some golden powder on top of Jimin’s head and shoulders. He lifted his hands afterwards between their chests with palms wide opened.
His eyes slid shut as he summoned the familiar radiance of energy flowing steadily from his core. In a matter of seconds, sparks of light littered Yoongi’s fingertips as the inked lines at the back of his hands glowed brightly.
“Wha—?” Jimin gasped, eyes wide in shock as he stared at Yoongi’s hands.
The gold dust began to float around Jimin, like little flecks of sun absorbing the thick miasma swirling on top of his head.
Yoongi felt the pull of the curse right at his fingertips, seemingly fighting back his enchantment, but Yoongi would have none of that.
This was a spell of purification, one which Yoongi had taken pride of. It was his mother’s specialty, one that was passed on to him and one that he had perfected all throughout the years.
Yoongi would never let himself be beaten by a damn curse.
After a few minutes of letting his energy flow through every pore of his body, Yoongi huffed out a heavy breath and all the shimmering lights and floating gold dusts suddenly disappeared.
Sweat was gliding down Yoongi’s neck when he finished the first round of enchantment, his chest heaving with labored breaths as the spell had taken a bit of a toll on him.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Should I be the one asking you that? You look exhausted.” There was a deep crease between Jimin’s brows and a look of genuine concern in his eyes.
Yoongi was left befuddled for a moment, curious as to why the young man would have felt such emotions towards him when he had made it clear just a while ago that he did not trust Yoongi’s kind.
“Enchantments take a bit of energy from the caster. But I will be fine after a night of rest.”
Yoongi wiped the sweat under his chin with the back of his hand. “The Miasma of Death is a strong curse. I would have to perform the same enchantment on you a few times more. Will you be able to meet me at least thrice a week for it?”
Jimin seemed genuinely surprised at Yoongi’s question. “What? You will do that for me?”
“Of course.” Yoongi frowned. “I do not go back on my words. This curse is dangerous, Jimin. It is taking your life slowly bit by bit everyday. It has to be extracted from you as soon as possible.”
Jimin stared quietly at him for a moment, as if trying to gauge Yoongi’s whole being with just a mere look. “Why are you so keen on helping me?”
The witch clenched his teeth briefly and dropped his eyes down on his lap. “Because I wanted to be able to help others with my power. Something which I’ve failed to do so when I was younger.”
A sullen smile curved the witch’s lips. “Yes. Perhaps it was because of that.”
There was a fleeting beat of silence between them before Yoongi felt Jimin’s hand touching his chin, causing his eyes to flick upwards to meet the other’s soft gaze and his heart to flutter inside his chest.
The human’s thumb rubbed against his pale skin gently but quite firmly, his touch tender and warm against Yoongi’s skin. “Ink,” he uttered, dropping his hand down as his gaze remained trained on Yoongi.
There was something flickering behind those dark irises of his, something which both warmed and terrified Yoongi at the same time, that kind of intensity that burned and left trails on Yoongi’s skin.
“I should go,” Jimin said, rubbing a hand behind his neck. “It was nice meeting you, Yoongi. I promise I will not utter a single word about you.”
“I know.”
The human’s eyes shot up because of that. “You know?”
The witch hummed as a small smile graced his lips.
Nodding, Yoongi repeated the words softly, “I know.”
Yoongi sighed as he poked the fire with an iron rod, the charring wood crackling in the hearth and emitting flames and thick, suffocating smoke.
Once satisfied, the witch walked back to the slumbering human bent over his work table, head rested upon thin, folded arms as even puffs of silent breaths slipped past through his slightly parted lips.
A small smile went its way towards Yoongi’s mouth and he sat on the wooden stool just beside his guest. Jimin had been visiting him quite frequently these days, sometimes for the enchantment, while the other times were nothing but for mere fun and a way to pass time.
They had grown fond of each other and now, Yoongi could call themselves as friends. Well, at least they were for Yoongi.
He remembered how Jimin’s face twisted with concern and sympathy when Yoongi told him how he’d ended up in the kingdom, why he had a strange abhorrence towards fire.
“Thank you for listening to me, Jimin,” he whispered. “Your presence means a lot to me.” He looked around the still room, melancholy seeping into his chest. “Sometimes, it gets a bit lonely in here.”
Yoongi reached out and tucked a stray lock of ebony hair behind Jimin’s ear, knowing full well that the younger was deep in his sleep and would cost him a limb before the other could wake up.
That was how Jimin’s curse worked — it put him into a deep sleep, like he was floating in an abyss of dreams as what Jimin had once said.
It scared Yoongi quite a bit. It was dangerous for someone to be lost in their sleep, to be in a sea of hazy dreams that no one knew when it would end.
Sometimes, Yoongi feared that Jimin wouldn’t wake up one day.
18 years ago.
Yoongi pressed his face closer to his mother’s chest, basking in the warmth of her arms wrapped protectively around him. She was singing — a tender tune of a lullaby sounding from her mouth and caressing Yoongi’s heart so softly and coaxing him to sleep.
“You should never tell anyone about who you are, Yoongi.”
Her hands tightened around Yoongi’s little form, pressing a loving kiss against the crown of his head.
“You should never trust anyone but yourself.”
She let out a trembling breath, slipping her eyes shut and burying her nose into the soft, fluffy dark locks of her son, cradling him with so much love and security that Yoongi melted inside her arms.
“Mother?” he muttered, voice laden with sleep.
“I’m sorry for burdening you with this gift, Yoongi,” she whispered and Yoongi felt her shoulders trembling. Was his mother crying? “I’m sorry for giving you a hard life.”
It was the last night that he and his mother had shared before every good thing that Yoongi had known whilst growing up was suddenly stripped away from him.
Yoongi felt a deep ache carving into his heart as his father held him tightly inside his arms, hand clamped over his mouth to stifle his mournful cries.
The townspeople were shouting and carrying all sorts of weapons in their hands, the royal guards trying to subdue some who had gone a bit violent as they threw stones at the battered lady tied against a sturdy post...
...At Yoongi’s loving mother.
“Damn witch!” one of the townspeople spat out.
“You’re a spawn of hell! Die!”
Yoongi’s hands clutched on his father’s arm. There were repeated shouts of ‘Burn her! Burn her!’ echoing under the bloody red moon, mixing with the winter breeze that only clutched at Yoongi’s neck like a vice.
A high-pitched scream resounded from where he and his father was hidden in the darkness of an alley, feeling his father’s ragged breaths near his ear, pained and sorrowful.
“Burn her!”
“She’s an evil spirit!”
“Cleanse her soul with fire!”
Yoongi felt bile rising up his throat as tears continued to spill down his eyes.
“We will go far away, Yoongi,” his father muttered, voice heavy and cracking at the edges. “Your mother’s death will not go in vain. You will live even if it’s the last thing I do.”
Wails and high-pitched screams echoed inside Yoongi’s ears, churning up his stomach and clawing at his heart so horribly that Yoongi couldn’t feel anything but the crippling pain lancing through his chest.
His mother’s voice that was once so soft and loving as she sang Yoongi to sleep was nothing but grating echoes and agonized screams now to his ears.
The last thing that Yoongi saw before he and his father had left that night was the tall, rising flames engulfing his mother’s body, stretching far up into the night sky as if reaching out for the heavens above.
From that moment on, Yoongi had loathed and had been afraid of fire.
A few weeks later, Yoongi found himself picking up roots and herbs in the western forest with Jimin. The human had insisted to go with him, saying that the shop he was working in from a neighboring town was closed for the day hence he had nothing else to do.
“You need a hand.”
“I’ve never said I need any help.” Yoongi tossed the medicinal roots into the basket, digging up some more.
Jimin placed his hands on his hips and sighed. “This is why you don’t have any friends apart from me. You’re sour and uptight sometimes, Yoongi.”
The witch let out a wry laugh, putting the shovel into the basket and standing up to his feet. “I don’t need friends,” he said, walking down the slope towards the riverbank.
“Everyone needs one!” Jimin exclaimed, following him shortly.
“Well, I don’t.” Yoongi crouched and put the basket next to him, dipping his hands into the cool water to wash off the dirty earth. “I don’t trust anyone.”
Yoongi was too scarred to even be close to anyone, to let his guards down around them just so they could seize him by the throat once he had laid himself bare for them.
Humans are deceitful, cunning creatures. They condemned and killed those who did not look, talk and walk like them. They thought that they were the only race who were rightful to live in this world, that no one aside from them mattered.
Because of that, humans were much worse than Yoongi’s own kind.
“But you trusted me,” Jimin spoke, voice low and careful, gazing into Yoongi’s eyes with a look of curiosity and a bit of caution. “The day we met, you revealed your identity to me despite fearing for your life. Why?”
Yoongi swallowed and shifted his eyes to his reflection on the water. “I don’t know,” he said truthfully. “I just wanted to help that time. I’ve had enough of people dying.”
Jimin was silent for a while, contemplating Yoongi’s words. And then, he spoke, “You have too much goodness in your heart, Yoongi. So much purity for this world. But that kindness can have you killed one day.”
The witch’s eyes turned to the side to look at Jimin’s frown, a look of sympathy and worry marring his handsome features.
“It’s hard for witches to hide when they are hunted like animals everywhere they go.” Yoongi stood up, wiping his hands on his black trousers. “I’ve been in this kingdom for two years, far longer than the places I’ve been before. I never thought that I’d make it this far after my father died of sickness when I was thirteen.”
“It’s been hard to move from one place to another, to live in constant fear for my life. And I’ve thought that, if the guards would come marching down into my shop one day, then I would go without a fight.”
I’ve been prepared to die ever since that ‘night.’
His lips curved into a sad smile that made Jimin’s expression break.
“I may die soon, Jimin. But I promise I will help you with your curse before that happens.”
Before Yoongi could bend and grab the basket from the pebbled earth, he felt a pair of slim arms wrapping around his neck and pulling him into an embrace which got Yoongi’s heart beating wildly up his throat.
Yoongi remained frozen as the human hugged him tightly as if Jimin was afraid that he would disappear in front of him once he let go. “J-Jimin?”
“I will not let anything happen to you, Yoongi.” He curled his fingers on the witch’s dark locks, pulling him impossibly closer. “I will protect you.”
Yoongi’s breath hitched.
Why was his heart fluttering so fast?
The witch let out a soft breath before his fingers gripped on the fabric of Jimin’s tunic, a high flush tainting his cheeks.
Then Yoongi heard a fluttering of wings and rippling of water coming from the river. He pulled away to turn his head to the sound, observing how the surface oscillated as if ‘something’ dove into it.
And perhaps, something did.
A pleasant smile tugged the corners of Yoongi’s lips and he let Jimin’s hands fall down to his arms, holding him gently and looking into his eyes with curiosity.
“What is it?” asked Jimin.
“The water sprites are watching us,” the witch said, smiling at Jimin. “They are friendly, playful creatures.”
Yoongi walked towards the river, ankle-deep into the water, and reached for the small pouch of gold dust tied on his belt.
“What are you doing?”
“Let me show you something.”
Yoongi took a palmful of the golden powder and sprayed them into the water, each fleck flickering like sunlight. He put his hands in front of him and took in a deep breath. Then, he spoke, “Rise.”
The water shot up in the air, startling Jimin that he had to take a step back as he watched the magic unfold in front of him with wide eyes.
Yoongi clapped his hands once, and then the stream and rivulets burst into tiny droplets. Yoongi’s eyes took in the beauty of the floating water around him, the smile on his lips stretching broader as each droplet looked like hanging crystals reflecting off the sun’s light.
They looked like twinkling stars, like shining diamonds.
Beautiful, he thought.
The witch turned his head around to look at the stunned expression on Jimin’s face. He tried to reach for a droplet, and gasped with a mixture of awe and wonder when his fingertip dipped into the water.
“Yoongi, this—this is—”
A chuckle bubbled inside Yoongi’s throat at the tongue-tied young man standing a few feet away from him. He waved his hands and the droplets parted for him, moving aside like shining, crystal curtains
“It’s beautiful, is it not?” he said once situated in front of the other man.
Jimin was now staring at him with a fond and joyous look in his face, one that pinches the edges of his eyes and curves his lush, rosy lips into a heartwarming smile.
“It is,” he affirmed.
“Every witch has an element of their own which they can control.”
“And yours is water.”
“Mhn,” Yoongi hummed. “There is not much that I can do, but I can communicate with it without the ritual symbols painted at the back of my hands.”
“Communicate?”
Nodding, the witch explained, “To control an element, a witch has to be at peace with the element’s spirits. I have been talking to them ever since I was a child.”
“How do you know that those spirits are still the ones you’ve talked to? You have been fleeing from kingdom to kingdom, Yoongi.”
Yoongi smiled and took Jimin’s hand between his own. “Water is continuous, flowing steadily no matter where we go.” He captured Jimin’s unwavering gaze. “It connects us all.”
He saw an inexplicable intensity fluctuating behind Jimin’s irises, rooting him to the ground and making his breath catch inside his throat.
Then, the younger was reaching up for his face, his palm soft and warm against Yoongi’s cheek. “You are full of surprises, Yoongi,” he muttered, and then he was leaning forward to press his lips against Yoongi’s own.
The witch gasped when he felt Jimin’s lips against his, heart pounding hard against his ribcage and filling his whole chest with warmth and exploding lights.
This was the first time that someone had kissed Yoongi, that someone opted to be this close with him, and the first time that Yoongi had let someone tear through his walls and seize his beating heart with their bare hands.
Love was such a complicated and surprising thing.
When Jimin’s lips began to move, the witch’s mouth parted for a soft gasp as arms finally found their way around the younger’s waist, earning him a hum of approval as the other pressed their bodies closer.
A flick of a tongue on his lower lip caused Yoongi’s heart to stutter and he whispered with a small, shaky breath, “J-Jimin.”
“Hush.” Jimin pressed their lips again once. “Let me kiss you.”
The kiss was gentle and slow, chaste and just a mere press of their lips, but so earth-shatteringly lovely that Yoongi felt the back of his eyes sting with tears.
Nobody had cradled his face so tenderly like this after his mother, had held him with so much care and adoration aside from the young man currently showering his face with little kisses that made his heart flutter with butterflies inside his chest.
“You are so beautiful and full of warmth, Yoongi,” Jimin whispered, lips brushing against his with every word. “You do not deserve to be treated so harshly.”
Yoongi’s lashes fluttered close as he pressed their foreheads together, feeling the human’s warm breaths fanning over his face. “And you are so full of light and life, Jimin. This curse that burdens you — I will do anything to take it away from you.”
Jimin pressed his lips against one corner of Yoongi’s mouth, and then to the flushed skin of his cheek. “I have never wanted anyone like this,” he murmured, and a hot shudder ran down Yoongi’s spine. “Have never felt my chest brimming with so much uncontainable emotions. What have you done to me, Yoongi?”
The witch’s breath stuttered and he pulled Jimin closer by the waist, finding the courage to once again seal their lips together. Kissing Jimin was like coming home, like he finally had a place which he belonged to after so many years of hiding and running away.
Was this what love felt like?
Yoongi was on his way back to the apothecary shop when he heard screaming and angry shouts coming from one of the small, old shacks near the marketplace.
Curiosity getting the best of him, the witch pulled his hood lower down his face and jostled his way through a thick group of onlookers. Once near the front, his eyes caught the battered form of a man sprawled limply on the ground, a furious guard kicking against his side and making an old woman weep in sorrow.
“Please, sir! My son is innocent! Have mercy on him!”
One of the guards scoffed. “This man was seen talking to the witch that we burned a fortnight ago. His innocence remains in question.”
He jerked his head to the other guards and the old woman wailed and begged for the armored men to release her child.
Fear and crippling guilt lanced through Jimin’s chest and he hastily turned away to run towards his shop where Jimin was waiting for him. He slammed the door open, startling the young man sitting on top of the wooden counter. Panting, he closed the door and slid the bolt shut.
“Yoongi?” Jimin hopped down and closed the distance between them, holding Yoongi’s arms and looking at his lover’s pale and fear-stricken face. “What happened?”
“Y-You can’t be seen here, Jimin,” Yoongi said, voice wavering and breaths coming out ragged. He was panicking. “T-The guards—they—kill—you can’t—”
“Yoongi, love. Breathe, please.”
Jimin threaded his fingers through the witch’s dark locks, looking into his eyes with furrowed eyebrows. “There you go,” he said when Yoongi finally calmed down. “Now, tell me.”
The witch inhaled deeply and placed his hands on his lover’s hips, feeling the other’s warmth and calming aura engulf him completely.
“I saw the guards seize a man who was accused of associating with a witch who was burned weeks ago.” He lifted his pleading eyes to the younger. “You cannot be seen with me. What if—what if the people know who I really am, tell the guards and then you—you’ll be captured together with me, Jimin. I cannot let you die.”
Not again. Not because of me.
His chest was heaving once again, his throat closing up due to a big lump of agonizing emotions that seemed to choke and suffocate him.
“Love.” Jimin thumbed the witch’s cheek and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead. “You will not be found out and I will not go anywhere.”
“W-We cannot be certain, Jimin—”
“Hush.” Jimin pecked on Yoongi’s thin lips, and smiled when he saw how a beautiful, healthy flush bloomed across the elder’s face. “Do not fret. Everything will be alright, okay?”
When Jimin said those words, Yoongi wanted to believe him. He sounded so sure, so positive that nothing bad would ever happen to Yoongi or to himself.
And yet, Yoongi remembered that his mother and the old man had told him the same thing.
Yoongi’s breaths were heavy as Jimin palmed his erection through the dark fabric of his trousers, feeling a sudden bolt of pleasure when the younger cupped him firmer.
The sound of plummeting raindrops against his window was deafening to the witch’s ears, coupled with the loud, frantic beating of his heart as Jimin touched him in the most intimate of ways.
The darkness of the room and the moonlight shining through the opened curtains cast a healthy, blue glow on their skin, bathing them in a mixture of blues, whites and shadows.
“You are doing so well, love,” Jimin murmured, plush lips grazing against Yoongi’s bare collarbones.
“I-I don’t know what I’m doing.” The witch’s hips bucked up automatically when Jimin slipped his hand down his waistband and stroked his cock slowly.
“You are being so good for me. Reacting to my touches quite beautifully.” The human leaned down to kiss Yoongi’s red-bitten lips. “I love seeing you unravel yourself, Yoongi.”
Yoongi huffed out a breath and reached out to pull Jimin down on him for a searing kiss. The human hummed and slipped his tongue into the elder’s awaiting mouth, licking inside which made Yoongi let out a low moan in response.
After a while of kissing and roaming hands, Jimin grabbed the vial of oil from the end table beside Yoongi’s bed, pouring a liberal amount of it onto his palm.
Jimin kissed Yoongi’s neck as he reached behind him to stretch himself open, whining and gasping as his fingers opened him in ways which he had always craved for.
Their remaining clothes were strewn all over the floor in no time, with Yoongi’s lashes fluttering closed as Jimin slicked his cock with the oil, palm dragging up and down in a painfully slow motion.
The human knelt on his knees and straddled Yoongi’s hips, reaching behind him for the witch’s erection and letting out a choked breath when the flushed head breached his entrance. “I will take care of you, love,” he said, bare chest slick with sweat and heaving with heavy breaths. “You will feel nothing but me for days.”
Yoongi’s head threw back against the pillow, mouth dropping open with a low moan as Jimin sank down his cock slowly, walls clenching around him and squeezing his shaft so deliciously that the air in his lungs got punched out of him when his lover’s bottom sat flushed against his hips.
“A-Ah, Yoongi.” Jimin’s eyes slid shut as his lips parted open with a breathy gasp, tilting his head back for a moment as he savoured the feeling of being stretched by the witch’s wide girth. “Full...”
“J-Jimin.” Yoongi’s heart was pounding so loudly inside his chest, feeling an inexorable amount of pleasure brewing in his groin.
The human leaned down to press a kiss against the witch’s forehead, murmuring all the while, “Just lay down and feel all of me, okay, love?”
Yoongi nodded shakily and tried to relax his taut muscles as much as he could. That was until Jimin began to move his hips and the witch once again groaned and thumped his head back against the pillow.
“So precious.” Jimin ran a hand from Yoongi’s clenching abdomen up to the sweat-slicked skin of his flushed chest, tongue flicking across his bottom lip as he watched Yoongi unfurl beneath him, hips languidly moving in deep circles that undoubtedly massaged his lover’s erection inside him.
“J-Jimin—ah—I...”
Yoongi panted as Jimin began to lift himself up and down the witch’s shaft, pace going faster and faster until Yoongi’s throat clogged up with his own choked whimpers and moans.
“Yoongi, love—fuck.” Jimin leaned back and propped his hands on Yoongi’s twitching thighs, holding himself up as his hips snapped back and forth sharply, occasional rolls and tight circles causing the flushed head of his hard cock leak with come.
“So good—ah!” Jimin moaned loudly as a particular roll of his hips caused Yoongi’s cock to press snugly against his prostate, neck arching and head tilting back as his jaws went slack because of the sudden bolt of pleasure that wracked up his spine.
“There,” he rasped, hearing Yoongi moan when he clenched hard around him. “Right there, my love. You’re filling me up so good.”
“J-Jimin.” Yoongi threw an arm over his eyes, feeling the heat of his deeply flushed face. His chest was heaving, breaths coming out in harsh pants as tremendous pleasure coursed through his veins like molten lava.
He had never felt such pleasure like this before, had never thought that such thing even existed. He had touched himself a lot of times throughout the years, yes, but this one was different.
To have someone touch, kiss and love him like this made his mind spiral down into a floating haze of delectable sensations that seemed to pull at every fiber of his being.
“Yoongi, no.”
He felt Jimin’s hands removing his arm from his face, ducking down to give him a firm and wet kiss on the lips. “I want to see you.”
“But it’s—” Yoongi gasped when Jimin rolled his hips just right. “—It’s too much.”
“I know.” Jimin smiled and pecked him on the lips again, sweat gliding down the side of his face. “But you’re doing so well for me, Yoongi. You’re being a good boy.”
A pleasured groan was ripped out of the witch’s throat at his lover’s praise, keening and seeking the warmth of the other’s plush, red-bitten lips once more.
After a while of kissing each other fiercely, all teeth and tongue, Jimin pulled away and braced his hands on Yoongi’s chest, a teasing glint palpable in his lust-filled, half-lidded gaze.
“I will make you feel so good, Yoongi,” he said, voice low and sultry that it made Yoongi shiver so badly. “I will make you lose yourself.”
And then, Jimin’s hips were moving — his pace fast and harsh that Yoongi couldn’t stifle the loud moan that spilled past his wet lips.
The human emitted high-pitched whines as he speared himself down on Yoongi’s cock, angling his hips in every thrust that hit him in a way that brought him the utmost pleasure. “A-Ah, Yoongi—fuck.”
The witched choked on his spit when Jimin threw his hands up in the air, head tilting back and baring the long column of his throat in front of him. Jimin’s hands curled on his dark locks, pulling at the strands everytime his hips would snap sharply and Yoongi’s cock would graze his prostate hard.
“Ah. Ah—ha—Yoongi...” Jimin licked his upper lip as he continued his movements, eyebrows furrowed and eyes slid shut tightly in pleasure. “You feel so, so good.”
Yoongi’s trembling hands flew to his lover’s hips, fingers digging on his golden skin so hard that bruises might bloom on it in the days to come.
“Jimin. Jimin,” Yoongi was uttering the human’s name like a mantra, brows knitted tightly together as he felt the boiling pleasure inside his groan intensify further with each circle of Jimin’s hips.
The shadows of the rivulets and plummeting droplets of rain painted Jimin’s body like a canvas, mixing with the white shine of sweat glossing over his bare skin.
Each undulation of Jimin’s hips brought Yoongi closer and closer to the edge, straining the muscles of his neck and causing his teeth to grit hard.
“Ngh—Ah...” A long, drawn out moan sounded from Jimin’s mouth when he rolled his hips just right, a pleased smirk tugging the corners of his full, glossy lips. With his eyes remaining closed, Jimin turned his head to the side to bury his face into his left arm, fingers curling tighter on his tousled ebony locks.
“Right there, love.” Jimin rolled his hips in sharp, deep circles that caused Yoongi to choke on a moan beneath him. “You’re so hard and good for me.”
Jimin began another harsh pace that caused the bed to creak against the wooden floor, the sound of sheets ruffling, plummeting of rain against the glass window, and obscene whines and moans echoing inside the small space of the witch’s room.
“A-Ah—fuck!” Yoongi’s hands gripped on Jimin’s hipbones tightly, bruising the golden skin beneath his sweaty palms. “Ji—Jimin—I...”
Yoongi’s mind was already wiped blank at that moment.
Jimin snaked his hands down his lithe body sensually, whining softly as his palms grazed his hardened, brown nubs. His heady gaze then landed on Yoongi, making the witch’s cock twitch inside him. That reaction pulled a haughty smirk on the younger’s lips as he laced their fingers together while Jimin rode him with sheer abandon.
“You like watching me touch myself, Yoongi?” he panted, fingers clutched together with Yoongi’s. “You like seeing me pleasure myself?”
“G-Gods, Jimin—” The younger’s words were licking the fire on the witch’s skin, spurring the intense coiling of groin even more. “—The words you say...”
Jimin gasped and then bit his lower lip hard when he shifted his hips and found that pleasurable angle which he loved so much. “You... feel so good inside me, Yoongi. Hitting me in all places,” he spoke breathily. “Yes. Yes. You’re so good for me, love.”
Jimin’s legs began to cramp at how fast and hard he was snapping his hips back and forth, thighs beginning to strain with so much effort with each roll of his hips.
Yoongi was a mewling mess beneath him, his pale skin flushed so beautifully and dark hair splayed around his head like an angelic halo.
The witch looked like a pretty, delicate flower in full bloom.
Jimin put Yoongi’s hands on his body, leaning back once again and supporting himself with one arm propped on Yoongi’s thigh.
He was so close, and so was Yoongi.
“Touch me,” Yoongi heard the human say in a breathy voice, lost in the haze of his own pleasure as his eyes rolled back into his head. “Touch me, Yoongi.”
Yoongi complied, caressing Jimin’s sweat-slicked chest and worshipping the way his muscles rippled beneath his palms.
Jimin was so sinfully beautiful.
“Ah!” The younger’s breath stuttered as Yoongi’s erection pressed against that pleasurable spot inside him, planting his hand this time on the sheets between the witch’s parted thighs to lean back further.
The shift of position caused the head of Yoongi’s cock to rub against his prostate firmly, left arm flying over his head to bury his face into the flesh of his arm, dark brows creased and spit-covered lips parted with wanton moans.
“Ah! Ah—Yoongi, I’m... I’m coming, love.”
Yoongi groaned as Jimin’s walls kept on clenching around him, pulling his release bit by bit from the pool of heavy pleasure inside his groin.
“Jimin, I—” he rasped. “I’m coming too.”
Jimin’s cock was leaking with so much come, dripping down the length of his shaft and balls and onto Yoongi’s abdomen beneath him.
The sight of Jimin losing himself in the face of utmost pleasure would forever be engraved behind Yoongi’s lids.
After a few more rough grinds, the younger came with a loud shout as his thighs convulsed on both sides of Yoongi’s hips, strings of white release spurting from his slit and pooling on Yoongi’s abdomen.
“J-Jimin—” Yoongi gasped and toppled over the edge with a loud groan when Jimin clamped down on his cock hard as the younger rode the remnants of his high as much as he could.
“Ah. Ah—Yes, Yoongi...” Jimin bit his bottom lip as he continued to snap his hips to chase the remaining pleasure that his lover had to offer, mewling and whimpering at the oversensitivity as Yoongi’s cock kept on grinding deliciously against his prostate.
“S-So good—Ah...”
“Jimin, wait—” Yoongi gripped the younger’s hips to steady him, but the other persisted, pitiful whines and moans falling past his lips as dull hums of both pain and pleasure thrummed beneath his skin.
“Hurts,” Jimin muttered dazedly as tears dampened his long, inky black lashes. “Hurts so good, Yoongi.”
The human’s hips slowed down into languid, small circles with Yoongi’s cock still buried deep inside him, dragging along his walls and grinding against his sweet spot until small dribbles of come leaked from the reddened crown of his cock.
Yoongi choked on his own breath as Jimin’s walls kept on clenching around him, rubbing against his spent shaft that tears sprung into Yoongi’s eyes because of the painful sensitivity.
“J-Jimin...” The witch bit on his hand and shut his eyes tightly, a low groan bubbling inside his throat as sparks of pleasure continued to shoot through his veins.
When the younger’s hips finally stopped moving, Yoongi was already a flushed mess of tears and ragged breaths beneath Jimin.
The younger smiled tiredly at him and dipped down to pull Yoongi’s hand away from his mouth, replacing it with his own lips as he kissed Yoongi so sweetly and lovingly that the elder’s heart melted anew.
Both of them hissed as Yoongi’s soft cock slid out of Jimin’s hole, the human lying down to his side and bundling up Yoongi inside his arms, kissing away the tears wetting Yoongi’s lashes and pink-blotched cheeks.
“I love you,” Jimin whispered, voice sounding louder than the plummeting rain against Yoongi’s window.
The witch’s breath hitched and he buried his face against the other’s bare chest, pulling the other closer to him by the waist, feeling nothing but his lover’s heat and rapidly beating heartbeats.
“And I, you,” he answered.
The younger smiled and kissed the crown of the witch’s head, murmuring, “Sleep. I will be here.”
And with the dull echoes of rain, even breaths and pounding heartbeats engulfing him, Yoongi breathed out a soft sigh as he let his damp, inky black lashes flutter shut.
The sound of loud thuds against the shop’s door roused Yoongi from his slumber.
The rain had long since lulled into still drops of water on his window as the first rays of sunlight permeated the space inside his room.
His lashes fluttered open, blinking away the blurriness of sleep and feeling the weight of Jimin’s thin arm draped over his waist.
The thuds became louder and Yoongi’s heart leapt up to his throat at the sound of a door banging against the floor. He bolted up from the bed, eyes instantly blowing wide with shock as he heard multiple pairs of booted soles thumping against the wooden floor of his shop.
“Shit,” he cursed and hastily shook Jimin’s arm to rouse him. “Jimin?” he hissed. “Jimin, wake up!”
But the younger’s eyes remained shut, lips parted slightly as soft, even breaths flowed through his mouth.
Jimin was still deep in his sleep.
“Fuck.” Yoongi snatched his clothes from the floor, hastily putting them on as loud banging of fists echoed behind the door of his room.
“Jimin!” he hissed through his teeth, frantic eyes landing on the rattling bolt of his door.
He contemplated on dragging Jimin out through the window, but who knew if there were people waiting for them outside as well? Would he even be able to carry his lover’s sleeping form?
Yoongi’s trembling hands cupped the younger’s face, helplessness lodging heavily into his chest as he stared at Jimin’s calm, beautiful face as if this would be the last time that he would see him.
And perhaps... Perhaps, it would be.
Then, Yoongi’s head whipped towards the sound of his door banging open, eyes wide with shock and fear as armored men flocked into the small space of his room, crowding both he and Jimin on the bed and at once prying Yoongi away from his sleeping lover.
“Let go!” he shouted, struggling against the guards hands on his arms. “Jimin!”
His lover was still asleep, unknowing of the terrible scene unfolding in front of him.
It would break Jimin if he woke up to Yoongi’s burned body.
“You are hereby arrested on the grounds of practicing the forbidden arts of witchcraft,” the captain of the guards spoke, eyes holding nothing but pure disgust and hatred towards Yoongi. “You will be held prisoner until your execution three days from now, as mandated by His Majesty, the King.”
All colors on Yoongi’s face drained out as he swallowed the thick lump clogging up his throat. “I demand fair trial.”
“Trial?” the man scoffed. “There is no trial for someone who was proven guilty of witchcraft.”
“Proven?” Yoongi’s brows furrowed in confusion. “I have not talked to anyone—”
The witch paused on his words, the syllables instantly dying on his tongue as a crippling sense of dread crept its way into his chest.
No. That couldn’t be. He wouldn’t—no.
A mocking smirk twitched the corners of his mouth at Yoongi’s shocked and pale face. He turned his eyes towards the sleeping man on the bed, the witch following his gaze and feeling a sudden drop of pain pouncing on his heart.
No. He wouldn’t. He promised me.
“This kid really fucked you, didn’t he?” The captain said, and the other guards snickered.
Yoongi almost doubled over himself at the strong, twisting feeling of shame engulfing his whole being.
“Did you feel bad about his curse?”
Yoongi’s head shot up to that, lips quivering as muted words and questions hung heavily on his tongue.
They knew about Jimin’s curse? But how?
“H-How did you—”
The captain shrugged and pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek. “You know how.”
Yoongi did. He knew from the moment the captain asked him about the curse. But a big part of him refused to acknowledge the undeniable, agonizing truth laid in front of him.
Yoongi wasn’t sure if his heart could take it.
“This kid is one of us,” the captain said, only confirming Yoongi’s suspicion. “He’s a decoy of ours to lure out witches with his curse that only your kind can see. Quite effective, is it not?”
The captain gripped Jimin’s hair and pulled him up to a sitting position, earning him an enraged snarl from the struggling witch.
“Get your hands off him!”
The captain let out a rambunctious laughter, jeering at Yoongi’s furious expression. “Have you really fallen for this whore?”
Hot, white anger suddenly surged through Yoongi’s veins. “Do not call him that—”
“He’s always slept with his victims, witch. You are not the first one.”
Yoongi blinked.
“What?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper.
The captain tugged Jimin’s hair harshly, tipping his head back. “Nothing works better to gain someone’s trust than giving them a good fuck.” He smirked. “You let your guard down, witch.”
Yoongi’s throat closed up as he felt bile rising up his throat. No, Jimin wouldn’t do this to him. He wasn’t just a simple fuck, a mere pawn for his game.
Jimin said he loved Yoongi just a few hours ago. He made him feel that he was loved, needed and protected.
Jimin would never betray his trust. There was just no way that what this man was saying was true—
“Ngh...”
The witch’s heart skipped in his chest when Jimin roused from his sleep, blinking dazedly for a few moments before his eyes blew wide in surprise and he briskly swatted the captain’s hand curled tightly on his hair, tugging the blanket over his naked body and dragging himself as far as possible from the other man.
“W-What—” Then, Yoongi’s tearful eyes met Jimin’s, his lover’s face breaking at the sight of him being restrained by the guards. “Yoongi—”
“Good job for finding another witch, kid,” the captain spoke, standing up to his feet. “You can get your reward in the treasury anytime.”
The witch’s face crumpled as silent tears fell down his cheeks, his shoulders sagging tiredly and slightly startling the guards holding his arms at the sudden lack of energy.
“N-No, wait, captain.” Jimin looked frantic, pleading eyes darting back to Yoongi’s direction. “I—”
“What is it?” The captain’s brow rose, suspicion flickering across his eyes. “Are you trying to prevent us from capturing the witch? Are you committing treason right now by associating with his kind?”
Jimin’s face paled and he looked at Yoongi with so much hurt and helplessness in his eyes.
“C-Captain, please,” Jimin began and wild panic instantly alarmed Yoongi’s entire body. What was he doing?
The younger shook his head. “It’s not—”
“I hate you!”
Yoongi cut the younger off, mustering every bit of energy he had left to frown and snarl at the human. “I shouldn’t have gone back with you from the brothel!”
A look of utter confusion flashed across Jimin’s face, knowing full well that Yoongi was speaking nonsense at the moment. “Yoongi—”
“You told me that we would just fuck!” he growled, heart beating loudly inside his chest as he spat out lies after lies in front of all of them.
I have to keep him safe, Yoongi thought. They shouldn’t know about Jimin and I.
“How dare you have me captured like this!” He struggled against the guards hold. “I will curse all of you!”
Jimin gasped as the threatening words slipped past Yoongi’s mouth.
“The witch has gone rampant, captain!” one of the guards exclaimed. “We should get him back to the castle immediately—”
“I will kill you!” Yoongi snarled. “I will kill all of you!”
“Take him away!” the captain ordered with a harsh whip of his hand, walking towards the door and leaving Jimin sitting there and staring at Yoongi with wide, unbelieving eyes.
“Yoongi—”
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with!” Yoongi shouted.
Please, just don’t speak, Jimin.
“I will curse you and your children after you! You will all die a bloody, painful death!”
A harsh smack against his cheek and all the words in Yoongi’s mind suddenly left him. He heard Jimin gasp but tried his best to uphold the piercing glare in his eyes, ignoring the throbbing pain in his cheek.
“Damn you,” he hissed through gritted teeth.
And before he could say anything further, there was a sharp, solid hit against the back of his neck, knocking the wind out of his lungs and causing his vision to suddenly swim with blinding, utter darkness.
Yoongi flinched when the door to his cell creaked open, blinding him momentarily with candlelight as the visitor gasped when he saw the poor state that the witch was in.
Yoongi flexed his knees closer to his body, making himself as small as possible, wrists straining against the chains buried deeply into the stone wall behind him, keeping his arms apart for everyone knew how dangerous a witch’s hands could be.
“You have ten minutes, Jimin.”
The visitor, Jimin, nodded stiffly at the guard. “Thank you for helping me, Jungkook.”
The guard nodded and closed the door behind him, leaving Yoongi and Jimin alone in the room, submerged in darkness with only the flickering candle as the sole source of illumination.
It had been hours seen Yoongi had last seen light.
The human approached Yoongi and knelt in front of him, placing the candle lamp on the floor. “Yoongi,” he muttered, facing crumpling with sheer agony. “What have they done to you, love?”
A small whimper emitted from Yoongi’s throat at the endearment, giving his heart nothing but pain and the bitterness of betrayal.
There was dried blood on the side of his face, his lower lip cracked and his ribs bruised and aching from the beating he’d gotten from the guards.
“I do not want to hear from you,” he hissed, attempting to sound vicious but failing miserably when his side hurt from even moving a little.
“Yoongi, I can explain.” Jimin’s lashes fluttered as pain and guilt twisted his handsome features. “I did not mean for this to happen.”
The thing about Yoongi was that he had a very soft heart. He always opted to see the good in people, despite how cruel they could be to his own kind. His mother told him once that he had a good and kind heart, that the world did not deserve someone like him.
Perhaps, she was right. But the thing was, Yoongi’s kindness had always had his heart broken.
“I am sorry for lying to you. For betraying your trust. But I have a younger brother whom I have to protect,” the human explained. “If I do not do what the king asked of me, then he would kill him, Yoongi. He’s the only family I’ve left and I cannot lose him.”
A younger brother.
Jimin said to him that he was an orphan, that he had no family left.
Was everything he knew about Jimin just a damn lie?
“Can I ask one thing?” The witch’s chapped lips hung open with muted words, thoughts continuing to swirl and overlap inside his head.
“Of course.”
Yoongi swallowed thickly, coughing a little at the dryness of his throat. He saw Jimin move in front of him, as if about to hold Yoongi with such overwhelming concern in his onyx eyes.
“Was—” The witch’s nails dug on his palms, dark eyes lifting up to capture the younger’s gaze. “—Was anything even real, Jimin?”
The human’s eyes slid shut as he hung his head in shame, fists clenching upon his thighs as he knelt in front of Yoongi so humbly that the witch’s heart ached in his chest.
“Yoongi, if you are going to doubt everything about me—about us then it is fine. I deserve that. Doubt everything, just...” Jimin let out a trembling breath, tears prickling on the edges of his eyes. “...Just not my love for you, please.”
Yoongi’s breath hitched.
“Everything that I feel for you—they are all real.”
Yoongi’s eyes stung at the sight of a small, sad smile on Jimin’s lips.
“Thank you.”
The human seemed surprised.
“That is all I needed to hear.”
A single tear escaped from Yoongi’s eye, making Jimin gasp. “Y-Yoongi...”
“I will die tomorrow, Jimin,” he said, voice low and a bit hoarse, trembling with much grief. Not because of his own death, no, but because he knew that it would make Jimin sad. “Tomorrow at dawn, I will burn in front of thousands of people.”
“No.” Jimin shook his head and finally found the courage to cup Yoongi’s face in his hands. “I will not let that happen to you, Yoongi.”
“You cannot stop it.” Yoongi closed his eyes and pressed his face a little closer against the welcoming warmth Jimin’s hands. “Death is the fate for all witches.”
A heavy silence hung above their heads for a moment, enabling Yoongi to hear his own pounding heartbeats.
“I will save you, Yoongi.”
The witch’s eyes opened. “What?”
“I will make things right.” Jimin leaned forward to kiss the witch on the lips firmly, eliciting a surprised, soft gasp from Yoongi.
“I have done horrible things to keep myself and my brother alive. But when I met you, when I saw your beauty and kindness, I’ve learned that not everything is about me. That I had a false notion about your kind.”
Jimin pecked him on the cheek. “I love you, Yoongi. And this time, let me be the one to help you.”
Yoongi jolted horribly when the door to his cell burst open, with Jimin hurriedly making his way towards him and removing his shackles with a key.
Where did Jimin get that?
“Jimin—”
“Come on, love. We have no time.”
They both ran out of the cell, Jimin’s cautious eyes darting in every direction to see if there were any castle guards nearby.
“Jungkook helped me free another prisoner to serve as a diversion.”
Oh.
“Most of the guards are now out to hunt him,” Jimin explain as he led Yoongi down the sewers, his voice echoing along the rounded walls.
“Are you sure we are safe?” Yoongi asked.
Jimin held his hand and kissed him briefly on the lips. “Nowhere is safe but in each other’s arms, love.”
Yoongi’s heart soared because of Jimin’s words and his grip on his lover’s hand tightened. They ventured through the dark sewers, with Jimin holding a small candle lamp to illuminate their path.
Then, they heard shouts and thundering footfalls.
“There they are!”
Both Yoongi and Jimin gasped in horror as castle guards ran towards them.
“Run!” Jimin shouted as they both sprinted away, splashing dirty water with every step.
Yoongi lost track of the direction they were going through, internally wishing that Jimin knew where he was leading them to.
A crack of light, as if the end of a tunnel, poured into Yoongi’s vision. Jimin’s grip on his hand tightened as they both screeched to a halt when the passageway ended into a small waterfall.
They were located high up, the edge of the cliff where the castle was built on ending with the splashing, wild waves of sea water beneath them.
“We have to jump,” Jimin said, looking Yoongi in the eye.
The screams and footsteps became louder.
“I trust you,” Yoongi muttered, trembling hand gripping his lover’s. “I trust you with my life, Jimin.”
“Seize them!”
Yoongi whipped his head around for a brief second, seeing the furious guards chasing after them, before Jimin grasped his hand tighter and shouted, “Jump!”
Yoongi’s surrounding was a blur as they fell from a great height. The sudden feeling of weightlessness as they tumbled in the air for seconds caused the witch’s gut to clench painfully, deafening his ears with his own screams.
The coldness of the sea suddenly engulfed Yoongi, seeping right into his bones like sharp icicles.
His hand felt bare, and through the blue and dimness around him, Yoongi searched frantically for Jimin.
When his eyes caught a sight of him, panic rose into his system when he saw the younger struggling through the water with heavy limbs, as if attempting to break through the surface but the current kept on sinking him down.
A horrible, terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Yoongi’s mind.
Jimin could not swim.
With his heart pounding in his chest like rolling thunder and with the air in his lungs morphing into tiny bubbles above his head, Yoongi swam towards Jimin with all his might.
When he finally got a hold of the younger’s arm, the witch closed his eyes and summoned the water spirits listening around them.
Please, dear spirits. Have mercy on us.
Then, the current around them changed and the next thing that Yoongi knew was that they were both being carried towards the surface, breaking through it with loud gasps as air finally flowed into their lungs once again.
The water spirits ushered them towards the small patch of land abutting the foot of the cliff. Jimin coughed and breathed in gulps of air as his small frame heaved, Yoongi placing a comforting hand over his back to calm him.
“You’ll be okay, Jimin,” the witch said.
“I—” Cough. “—Thank you.”
The witch sighed and brushed away dark, wet locks from the younger’s eyes. “You are a fool for jumping down the sea when you cannot swim.”
A tired smile bloomed on Jimin’s face and he leaned closer to Yoongi to press his cold lips against the elder’s cheek. “It was the only way to escape.”
“I don’t want you risking your life for me, Jimin,” Yoongi chided him gently, brows creasing.
“I could say the same thing to you,” the human countered. “You said those lies to the captain to save me, did you not? Because he was suspicious that I have committed treason against the crown for associating with you other than what I was initially tasked to do.”
Yoongi had no words for that.
“You can longer go back, Jimin,” Yoongi uttered, anxiety lacing with his heart for his lover’s situation.
“I know.”
“What about your brother?”
“Jungkook has taken him to a safe place. I gave him an instruction where to find me.”
“Find you?”
Jimin smiled and planted a kiss on one corner of Yoongi’s mouth. “I know a place where we can be together, Yoongi. Somewhere far away.”
The witch’s heart brimmed with hope at his lover’s words.
“I cannot say that we will always be safe, but I promise you that I will always be here to protect you because I love you, Yoongi.” Jimin pressed their foreheads together, eyes slipping shut. “And I want to be with you until my last breath.”
Love and gratitude filled Yoongi’s chest that he could not contain the soft sob that fell past his lips. He was crying in a moment, with Jimin cradling him inside his arms, promising nothing but warmth, love and a future together.
“I love you,” Yoongi murmured against the younger’s neck, pressing his lips against the golden skin. “I love you so much, Jimin.”
The younger huffed out a wet laugh as happy tears rolled down his cheeks, red puffy eyes disappearing into tiny crescents which Yoongi loved so much.
“Let us run away together, Yoongi,” Jimin said as the witch summoned the water spirits once again, the splashing drops cooling their feet and arms as they swirled around them, waiting for Yoongi to bend them to his wishes.
“Yes,” Yoongi answered, holding Jimin’s hand once again and letting out a blinding smile that rivaled the stars and heavenly cosmos.
The water spirits hummed and lifted their feet off the ground.
“Let us go.” Yoongi squeezed the human’s hand and then he spoke, “Far into the horizon.”
- Fin -